I Hate Rain
by KittenOnTheKeys
Summary: CATS Fic. Sammy and Phoebe are best friends. But, as the saying goes, into each life a little rain must fall. Commissioned by Phoebe.
1. Rain

**I Hate Rain**

_The Story of A Tortoiseshell Kitten_

Phoebe hated rain. Unfailingly, she scrambled to find a hiding place as soon as she felt the tiniest drop. But she could never have known of the adventures that this seemingly insignificant habit would bring her.

She was a small kitten, with a glossy tortoiseshell-and-white coat and bright green eyes. She rubbed some water off her little pink button nose and squinted up at the stormy sky, from which she'd shielded herself underneath an awning.

_Oh, if only Grizabella hadn't gone away_, she thought gloomily. _She could always think of games to play on rainy days_.

Phoebe, as anyone could've guessed if they'd been able to hear this thought, was an orphan. She'd never known any parents of any sort. They only thing close to a mother she'd ever known was the kindly old queen named Grizabella. Grizabella had taken care of her for only a few months before she'd disappeared without a trace, leaving Phoebe alone to take care of herself. Phoebe, however, didn't mind this turn of events. She rather liked the idea of being a "big kitten" and taking care of herself. But because Phoebe didn't have a permanent home, she had to wander around a lot. Because of this, her friendships never lasted more than a few hours. And because of this, Phoebe was often lonely.

As she stared impatiently up at the sky, waiting for it to stop raining, she felt a paw touch her tail.

"Hey!" she shouted at the top of her voice. She jumped up and turned to find a tom sitting behind her. He seemed to be just a bit older than Phoebe, and he had a brown base coat with little gray spots and stripes, and friendly-looking blue eyes.

"Just what did you think you were doing?" Phoebe asked irately.

"Sorry…I thought your tail was a mouse," said the tom.

Phoebe glared at him.

"Well, you're a crabby little kitten, aren't you?" said the tom. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Who cares?" Phoebe replied. "Now go away. You're annoying me."

The tom rolled his eyes and stretched sleepily. "It just so happens that I always come here at lunchtime. The owner of this bakery sometimes feeds me scraps."

"But…what does that have to do with anything?" Phoebe asked, growing increasingly cross with the tom. The tom shrugged.

"It just means that _I'm_ not going to be the one leaving," he said.

"Oh, and so you expect _me_ to go out there…in the…in the _rain_?" Phoebe asked. The tom laughed.

"What's wrong with a little rain?" he asked. "It never killed anyone."

"You get _wet_ in the rain!" said Phoebe in surprise. Didn't this tom know _anything_?

"So?" the tom asked. "You're a funny kitten. What's your name?"

Phoebe decided to tell the tom her name. He didn't seem dangerous. Only annoying. "My name's Phoebe. What's yours?"

"Samuel," said the tom. "But most cats call me Sammy."

"Samuel…" Phoebe pondered the name for a moment. "It doesn't fit you very well," she concluded.

"Well, I didn't name myself, you know." Samuel laughed. "Gosh, did _you_ get up on the wrong side of the bed. What's eating you, Phoebe?"

Phoebe glared out at the pouring rain. "I _hate_ rain!" she said. Samuel laughed and stretched again.

"Like I said, it never killed anybody," he told her. "Chill out. Take a nap or something."

"I _do not_ like naps any more than I like rain," Phoebe told him. "Only _little_ kittens take naps."

"I love naps," said Samuel. "In fact, I think I'm ready to take one now."

Phoebe sighed and sat down next to him, seeing as there wasn't anything better to do until the rain stopped. "Where do you live, Samuel?"

"Well…I live at this old abandoned warehouse with all Macavity's other agents," said Samuel.

"Who's Macavity?" Phoebe wanted to know.

"I don't really know…I just know he's my boss and I have to do what he says," said Samuel. "I don't really care about much more than that, because he never tells me to do much of anything, so I've never bothered to ask."

"Are his agents all toms?" Phoebe asked.

"No, there's some queens," said Samuel. "Not many though."

"Are the agents nice?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh yes, they're always nice to me," said Samuel. "But sometimes it depends."

"On what?" Phoebe asked.

"On how well you listen to Macavity," said Samuel. "If you don't listen to him, you get in trouble. But it _is_ his lair, and so I suppose it makes sense that we ought to listen to him."

"I don't think I'd like it there very much," Phoebe reflected.

"Oh no?" Samuel asked. "Not even if your only other option was out in the _rain_?"

Phoebe growled and punched Samuel's arm playfully.

They were best friends from that day forward.


	2. A Few Weeks Later

**Chapter 2 - A Few Weeks Later**

Phoebe had been convinced by her new friend, Samuel, to come with him and try living at Macavity's Lair. At first she objected, but he argued that she didn't have to be an agent and listen to Macavity. She would just be living there as his friend. After a few more arguments from Sammy, Phoebe consented and went to live at Macavity's Lair. She found it wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be. In fact, she found it quite pleasant. The agents were all kind to her, and since she lived with them, she began to develop some friendships. Her best friend, of course, was Sammy.

Phoebe didn't stay at Macavity's Lair all the time. She often went out on walks by herself, except on rainy days. On one such walk, Phoebe decided to go in the opposite direction than she usually went. She was surprised that it didn't take her long at all to reach the west outskirt of the city. She hadn't known they were so close to the city's edge.

There was nothing much there that interested her. She turned to go back home when she heard a strange sound coming from…she wasn't quite sure where. It sounded like singing…lovely singing. That was something she didn't hear every day, living at Macavity's Lair. Hardly anyone ever sang at all there. She looked about eagerly to see who it was, but she didn't see anyone. It seemed to be coming from the junkyard across the street, so she ran over to investigate.

Sure enough, she found that the singing was coming from the junkyard. But there wasn't just one cat there. There were several…perhaps as many as twenty.

"Hey! Who are you?" asked one of the cats. She was a very tiny kitten – even smaller than Phoebe – and she had very large, dark brown eyes.

Phoebe was staggered. She hadn't expected to find cats here, much less have them speak to her. "I'm…I'm…" she stammered. "I'm Phoebe."

"I'm Jemima," said the kitten. "Have you come to be a Jellicle?"

"What's…what's a…a Jellicle?" Phoebe asked. Jemima laughed.

"You don't know what a Jellicle is?" she asked. "I'm sure Munkustrap can explain."

"Who's Munkustrap?" Phoebe asked.

"He's the protector of the tribe," said Jemima. She motioned for Phoebe to follow her, but Phoebe held back.

"I don't think I should," she said. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"Don't be silly…Munkustrap likes everybody," said Jemima. "Well…except for maybe Macavity."

"He knows Macavity?" Phoebe asked in astonishment. "Why doesn't he like him?"

Now Jemima looked truly surprised. "You don't know? Macavity's a wicked cat who does evil, horrible things to other cats."

Phoebe was thoroughly confused. "But…I've met Macavity before, and he was nice to me."

Jemima looked alarmed. "You must come and tell Munkustrap!" she urged.

Phoebe was curious now and followed Jemima without hesitation. Why was her new friend so scared of Macavity? What could possibly be so bad about him?

"Munkustrap!" Jemima called. She had brought Phoebe into one of the lairs that were built into the various piles and articles of junk lying about the yard. Inside this particular lair, there was a tall and heroic-looking tom. He was striped with various shades of black and gray.

"What is it, Jemima?" he asked kindly. Phoebe had expected to be afraid of him, but she wasn't.

"I made a new friend," said Jemima. "Her name is Phoebe, and she says she's met Macavity before!"

The tall tom looked at Phoebe with concern. "Has he treated you badly?" he asked. Phoebe shook her head confusedly.

"That's a very lucky thing for you, Phoebe," said the tom. "Macavity is a brutal tom."

"But I don't understand," said Phoebe. "Macavity has always been nice to my friend, Sammy, and me."

"Well…there is a queen here who could probably explain that to you much better than I can," said Munkustrap. "She's met Macavity before, just like you. And Macavity was once nice to her, too. I'll get her."

_Who could it be?_ Phoebe wondered. _Will I know her?_

Munkustrap returned shortly with a queen that Phoebe had never seen before. She was very pretty, with sparkling green eyes and glossy, black-and-gold fur. She smiled warmly at Phoebe.

"Phoebe, this is Demeter," said Munkustrap. Phoebe gave a start. _Demeter_. She'd heard that name before. The agents had told Sammy and Phoebe that Demeter had been in love with Macavity once, but something had gone wrong between them; the agents would never say exactly what.

"You don't look evil," she said to Demeter. Demeter laughed.

"I should certainly hope not," she said.

"You don't," said Phoebe. "But Macavity said you once loved him, but something had gone wrong, and so I always thought you were."

"I did love him," said Demeter, with a little shudder. "But he was different then. He was kind to me. I would never have guessed how he really was."

"But what happened? What did he do to you?" Phoebe asked.

"What he did to me is something very bad. It isn't something for the ears of kittens," said Demeter kindly. "I wouldn't want to scar your innocent mind with such stories."

Phoebe didn't ask again, but she desperately wanted to know what'd happened to her. Phoebe thought that Macavity must have hurt her somehow, and she didn't want the same thing to happen to Sammy.

These thoughts were still with Phoebe when she returned to Macavity's Lair that day. As soon as she saw the opportunity to talk to Sammy alone, she seized it.

"Sammy, you'll never guess where I went today," she said.

"Do tell," said Sammy.

"I went to this junkyard at the edge of the city, and there were cats living there!" Phoebe exclaimed. Sammy looked interested.

"Go on," he said.

"They said they were called Jellicles," Phoebe continued. "And you'll never guess what else. That Demeter queen the agents always talk about…she was there!"

"The Jellicles…" said Sammy thoughtfully. "Demeter was there?"

"Yes," said Phoebe. "But…Macavity always said the Jellicles were bad. They were so nice to me, Sammy, and they said that _Macavity_ was the one who was bad. So now…I don't know what to think anymore."

"Me either, Phoebe," said Sammy. "Did you talk to Demeter?"

"Yes," said Phoebe. "Actually, that's mostly what I wanted to talk to you about. I've heard all the stories, and so I asked her what'd happened. She told me that it wasn't for kittens to hear and she wouldn't say anything else. I know something _horrible_ must've happened to her, Sammy, I just know it! And I want to know what happened and why, so we can make sure the same thing doesn't happen to you."

"I don't think there's much danger of that," said Sammy. "I hardly ever even see Macavity. But I'm curious too. Maybe we can ask Macavity."

"No!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Let's not ask Macavity. _He_ doesn't ever talk about Demeter; it might make him angry if we asked him, and now I'm afraid to do that. Let's ask someone who talks about Demeter."

"I know just who to ask," said Sammy. "Elijah! He knows everything that goes on here. He's been here from the beginning, they say."

They went and found Elijah, and middle-aged tom who served as a sort of record-keeper at the Lair. He spent most of his days either wandering about the Lair, telling his stories to anyone who would listen, or in the library, writing the stories down in big books. Phoebe and Samuel found him in the library.

"Hello, Elijah," Sammy greeted. Elijah looked up from his book and stared at them a moment.

"Hello there, you two," he said. "Can I help you?"

"We need to find out about someone," said Phoebe, taking a seat beside the old tom.

"Well, missy you've come to the right tom," Elijah boasted with a smile. "I have records of most everyone at this Lair. Who is it you're wanting to know about?"

"Demeter," said Phoebe. Elijah began to flip through his books.

"Demeter…Demeter" he repeated the name to himself as he flipped through his books. "Ah…here she is!"

He stared at his book for a moment and then looked up at Phoebe and Sammy.

"I don't know if the young queen here should be listening to this story," he said to them. "Macavity's dealings are not always pleasant to hear."

"She'll be fine," said Sammy, putting an arm around Phoebe's shoulders. They settled down to listen, and Elijah cleared his throat.

"Demeter was a beautiful queen of the Jellicle Tribe. Against his general feelings towards the Tribe, Macavity fell madly in love with her. He was determined to make her his mate in any way possible. For quite awhile he called on her in a most gentlemanlike matter. Then, she began to turn away from him in favor of another in her Tribe, and everything changed. He tried to assassinate the Jellicle tom that she loved, but the attempt failed, and for the first time she saw what he was truly capable of. He had her captured and brought to the Lair and tried to…"

Here Elijah paused glanced at Phoebe before continuing, "…force himself upon her. He would have kept her here forever, if it weren't for the Jellicles. They daringly stormed the Lair and rescued Demeter. Macavity has been bitter toward her memory ever since."

"Thank you, Elijah," said Phoebe. "This story has been very helpful to us."

"Anytime, sweetie," said Elijah. The old tom returned to his books as Phoebe and Sammy left the library.

"Well?" said Sammy.

"Well?" said Phoebe.

"Did you find out what you wanted to know?" asked Sammy. Phoebe looked serious.

"Well, now I know that that can't happen to _you_," Phoebe said, grinning sheepishly. "But…now I'm afraid that maybe he'll try that on _me_. Or that he'll get mad at you and have you assassinated."

"I'm not planning on becoming a Jellicle anytime soon," said Sammy. Phoebe looked at the floor.

"What is it?" asked Sammy.

"Well, it's just…_I've_ been thinking about the Jellicles. And the more I think about them, the more I like them, and the more I want to be one of them. Think about it, Sammy! It'd be so much nicer than here. There'd be no one to get mad at you."

"I like it here just fine," said Sammy. "You can be a Jellicle if you want to. I don't mind, as long as I still get to see you."

"I'm not going without you, Sammy," said Phoebe. "I couldn't. Something bad might happen to you."

Sammy grinned. "Like what?" he asked. "I'll get kicked out into the rain?"

Phoebe laughed and punched his arm.


	3. Two Weeks Later

**Chapter 3 – Two Weeks Later**

Phoebe couldn't get the Jellicles off her mind. She tried every means possible, but it just couldn't be done. She decided that she would try harder than ever to persuade Sammy to join the Jellicles with her, even if it made him mad at her.

Make him mad at her it did, though not exactly mad. He was more annoyed than anything. One day, when he was particularly cross, he burst out, "What's the matter with you, Phoebe? Are you _trying_ to get us in trouble?"

Phoebe stared at him in shock. Sammy had never yelled at her before. "No, Sammy, no…I could never _try_ to make you get hurt! Why would you think that?"

"Talking about the Jellicles around here gets you in big trouble!" Sammy whispered, so the other agents wouldn't hear. "Do both of us a favor and forget them! They're Macavity's enemies. He _hates_ them, Phoebe. Don't you know that?"

"Of course I know that!" Phoebe snapped. "But if Macavity can do something so wicked to Demeter, then think of all the other things he might have done! Did you ever stop to think that maybe Macavity _is_ bad, like the Jellicles say? That maybe, by being his friend, you've become a criminal? Do you ever stop to think at all anymore, Sammy?"

Angry and hurt, Phoebe turned on her heel and hurried away. Sammy just stared after her, shocked that they'd actually quarreled. That was something they never did.

_Hm! Good riddance to the Jellicles,_ he thought to himself. _They're the ones causing all this trouble between us. They must be bad if just thinking about them makes Phoebe and I fight._

Feeling angry with the Jellicles, he turned and stalked in the opposite direction.

* * *

Phoebe hurried into her room and slammed the door. She threw herself down on her bed and glared up at the ceiling.

_Stupid Sammy,_ she thought. _Why can't he admit that maybe I'm right for once?_

She sat up and looked around her room. It was cozy and comfortable, but she'd leave it for the Jellicles in a second, if only Sammy would agree to come with. There was absolutely no way she'd leave Sammy behind.

This got her thinking about why she didn't want to leave Sammy. After all, it wasn't as though he was her family or anything. He was just her friend. Or was he?

Phoebe felt hot tears in her eyes as she thought about this.

Was it possible that she was in love with Sammy?

* * *

Sammy stalked off to his room in a huff.

_Why does that dumb kitten have to think about the Jellicles so much? _he thought to himself. _Why can't she just leave it alone? We were fine here until she met them._

He put his arms up behind his head and lay back on his pillow. He didn't want to join the Jellicles, but he certainly didn't want Phoebe to go off and leave him. He started to think about what he would do if she decided to go to the Jellicles without him. That got him thinking about how much he would miss her, and how much he needed her with him every day.

He sat bolt upright as the realization hit him. Could he be in love with Phoebe? He'd never considered this possibility before, and so it seemed rather odd. But there it was, just the same, and he was seriously considering it. It was a logical explanation for what he was feeling.

He was startled by a sudden knock at the door.

"Come in," he called, rather absently. He was surprised to see that it was Macavity himself who strode into the room.

"Sir," Sammy said, rising to his feet. "I didn't expect you to…"

Macavity held up his hand to silence him. "I've heard some unfavorable reports on you. Are they true, Samuel?"

Sammy's mouth hung wide open in surprise. "Unfavorable…reports?" he asked numbly. "I…I don't understand."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Macavity roared. "Have you or have you not been negotiating with the Jellicles?"

_The Jellicles!_ Where on earth had Macavity heard that?

"I…I've never been to their place, sir," said Sammy. "I've never met one of them, ever, I swear!"

"I was told you were even considering joining them!" said Macavity, smacking him across the face. Sammy held his jaw and couldn't reply, he was so shocked.

"Who…how…" he stammered.

"This information was given to me from a very reliable source," Macavity told him. "If this doesn't stop, Samuel, you don't want to know what I'll do to you."

As the ginger tom turned to leave, he stopped a moment in the doorway.

"And warn your little girlfriend," he said. "_She_ was actually seen inside the Jellicle junkyard. You'd better warn her and keep her out of trouble."

_Meanwhile…_

Phoebe was so upset with Sammy that she decided to go visit the Jellicles and ask them what to do. She hurried out of Macavity's Lair, making sure that no one was watching her, and headed for the junkyard. Jemima saw her come in the gate and was happy to see her.

"I haven't seen you in awhile, Phoebe," she said. "Where've you been lately?"

"I've been…busy," said Phoebe. "Well…not _exactly_ busy. Just…"

Phoebe searched for the right words to use to tell her friend what she was going through. When she thought about it, it seemed so simple, but when she tried to put it into words…somehow, it became much more complicated.

"I've been thinking," she tried again. "You see, I live at Macavity's Lair."

She tried not to say 'Macavity's Lair' too loudly.

"I know," said Jemima. "But I don't think I'll ever be able to guess _why_ you live there. You'll never tell me."

"Well, I think today's the day," said Phoebe. "I haven't told you because I've been trying to figure it out myself. But today, I've figured it out. It was so simple, but it took me all this time to see it! You see, the only reason I live at Macavity's Lair is because my best friend, Sammy, lives there. He's one of Macavity's agents, except he doesn't actually ever do anything much for Macavity. _I _want to become a Jellicle – I want to become a Jellicle very much – but he doesn't. He says he's fine right where he is. He doesn't realize that Macavity's bad. I thought about coming here and becoming a Jellicle without him, but then I could never see him again. And that's when I thought that maybe…maybe he wasn't just my friend anymore. Maybe I _love_ him. Anyway, I just couldn't leave him, and so now I don't know what to do!"

"That's a very…interesting story," said Jemima. "Maybe you should try to _show_ him how bad Macavity is."

"I've tried everything that I can," said Phoebe. "I can't think of anything else to try."

"Well, maybe you should bring him here and Demeter can tell him her story," said Jemima. "Maybe then he'll believe it."

"But how will I get him to come here? He won't want to, because he knows he'll get in trouble if he's caught."

Jemima smiled. "Don't worry, I have a way."

* * *

"Oh, Sammy, it's such a nice day!" Phoebe exclaimed as she looked out the window the next afternoon. "Won't you come on a walk with me?"

Sammy looked up from where he was lounging on a sofa. "You want me to come on a walk with you? That's something new. What are you up to?"

"Sammy!" Phoebe looked at him incredulously. "_You_ should know me better than that."

Sammy got up off the sofa and brushed himself off. "You're right," he said, smiling. "I should know you better. I'm sorry."

Phoebe found herself blushing as he smiled at her.

"Well, are you coming?" Sammy asked. Phoebe snapped out of it and walked beside him out the door.

So far, so good.

* * *

"So…where are we going?" Sammy asked as they walked along.

"Nowhere, really," said Phoebe. "I usually just walk this way. Sometimes I stop to visit some friends that live along this road."

"_This_ road?" Sammy asked, looking around. "There certainly isn't much here that's appealing to live in."

"Well, they live here just the same," said Phoebe. "Would you like to meet them?"

"Sure," said Sammy cheerfully. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Phoebe smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said.

They walked along silently for a while. Suddenly, Samuel reached over and took Phoebe's paw.

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked quietly. Sammy took his paw away and looked embarrassed.

"I…I thought your paw was a…a…a falling leaf," he stammered. Phoebe laughed.

Then she reached over and hooked her arm through his.


	4. Face Off

**Chapter 4 - Face-off**

"Phoebe! It's so nice to see you!" said Jemima as Phoebe and Sammy entered the yard.

"Phoebe! What are you doing?" Sammy whispered in her ear. "You know I shouldn't be here!"

"You said you wanted to meet my friends," she said. She looked up at him seriously and asked, "Don't you trust me, Sammy?"

"I…well, yes, of course I do," said Sammy.

"Who's this?" asked Jemima as the two friends approached her.

"This is Sammy, the tom I've told you about," said Phoebe. Jemima smiled kindly at Sammy.

"So _you're_ Sammy," she said. "Phoebe talks about you all the time."

"She…she does?" Sammy asked, shocked. He looked over at Phoebe, who smiled.

"Yes, she does," said Jemima. "In fact, sometimes it's hard getting her to stop."

Phoebe blushed, embarrassed, but Sammy looked pleased. He looked far more pleased than she'd expected him to.

"I have lots more friends for you to meet," said Phoebe. "Come on."

Sammy was reluctant at first, but once he met a few other Jellicles, he began to realize that Phoebe had been right about them. He'd never felt so at home, so accepted, as he did with these cats. They made him feel as though he were one of them, when he knew very well that the Jellicles were all afraid of Macavity and his agents.

"Well? What do you think?" Phoebe asked after he'd met all the Jellicles.

"I think…" Sammy was at a loss for words. "I don't know what to think. I…I love it here. I really do. But I just can't stay here."

"Why not?" Phoebe demanded.

"I'll get in trouble," said Sammy. "You _know_ that, Phoebe."

"Sammy, don't you see?" Phoebe asked. "That's exactly what's so bad about Macavity! You're not free to make your own choices. Don't you think there's something fishy about that?"

Sammy stared at her in surprise. "Well…yes, I suppose there could be."

"That's what Macavity does to everyone," said Demeter, stepping forward. "He traps them without realizing it. And then, when you least expect it, he…"

"Cracks down on you," said a familiar voice. They turned and saw Macavity standing at the junkyard gate.

"Macavity!" Demeter hissed.

"Didn't think you'd ever have to see me again, did you?" Macavity asked her, his voice as cold as ice. "You left without even thinking of my feelings."

"Feelings! Don't make me laugh," said a tall, red queen named Bombalurina. "The only thing you ever felt toward Dem was…"

"I loved her!" Macavity cut in. "And she betrayed me. Just like you've betrayed me, Samuel!"

"I…I…didn't mean…" Sammy faltered.

"You belong to me!" Macavity growled at him.

"No he doesn't!" Phoebe spoke up. Macavity glared at her.

"I'd stay out of this if I were you, Phoebe," he said darkly. "This affair doesn't concern you."

"It does too," said Phoebe angrily. "Sammy is my friend. I care about Sammy. You don't. And Sammy _doesn't_ belong to you, or anyone else, except himself!"

"She's right!" Jemima put in. "No cat belongs to another cat, because we're all cats just the same as each other."

"I'm warning you, kittens!" Macavity growled. "Do you know what I could do to you?"

"I'm not afraid of you, Macavity," said Phoebe boldly, as much to convince herself of that fact as to convince Macavity.

"You will be if you don't shut your yap!" Macavity thundered.

"Hey!" Samuel protested, hugging Phoebe protectively. "Lay off her. She's just a kitten."

"Kitten or not, I've given her – and you – a fair warning," said Macavity. He rushed at Phoebe and Samuel, who braced themselves for an attack.

"I love you Phoebe," she heard Sammy whisper in her ear. Her heart jumped.

"I…I…I love you too, Sammy," she said softly. They hugged each other tighter, waiting for Macavity to pounce on them.

_What's taking so long? _Phoebe screamed inside her head. _Why can't he just get it over with?_

That's when she realized that there was no way that Macavity was ever going to get near her. She looked up and saw that the entire Jellicle Tribe had launched an attack on Macavity, driving him out of the junkyard. The Jellicles were defending them! With a kittenish whoop of joy she ran to join in, and when Sammy realized what was happening, he did too. It didn't take long for twenty-some cats to drive one tom out of the junkyard.

"Yeah, go, you meanie!" Phoebe hollered after Macavity as she watched him run away. "Go away and don't come back anytime soon! If you do, my friends and I will be on you like smell on a dog! You…"

"Uh, Phoebe…I think that's enough," said Sammy. Phoebe stopped hollering and started jumping up and down.

"We did it! We did it, Sammy! We beat him!" she said excitedly. "We beat Macavity, and we're Jellicles!"

"Are we?" Sammy asked.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Phoebe cried, delighted. "Munkustrap asked Old Deuteronomy and he said that we'd be accepted into the Tribe if that's what we wanted!"

"Oh…well…okay," said Sammy. Phoebe stopped jumping and looked at him.

"That _is_ what you want, right?" she asked. Sammy didn't reply for a moment.

"Phoebe, the truth is…all I want is to be wherever you are," he finally confessed. "I want to make you happy. I love you, Phoebe."

Phoebe stared at him with wide eyes. "You _love_ me?" she asked, incredulous. "_You_ love _me_?"

"Y-yeah," Sammy stammered. "And…well…if you want to think that I'm a freak now, then go ahead. But I'll still love you."

"Oh, Sammy!" Phoebe cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "This is the most wonderful thing that's ever happened! This is…this is…oh…I love you, too, Sammy!"

Sammy hugged her tightly. As he did so, a gentle sprinkling of rain started to come down on them.

"_Rain_!" Phoebe shouted. "Not now! Why did it have to _rain_ and spoil all this?"

"If it weren't for the rain, we never would've met; you should be grateful for the rain," said Samuel. "And it's like I've _always_ told you: a little rain never killed anybody."

"Well, if we're going to be in love, you're just going to have to get used to the fact that I _hate_ rain," said Phoebe. And with that, she smiled and punched his arm playfully.


End file.
